News

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was sued by a group of Indian nationals in the hopes of forcing the federal government to review green card petitions filed nearly 10 years ago. The last interview was completed in 2019. As such, the plaintiffs claim there has been an unreasonable period of time to complete the adjustment of status application.

On plaintiff’s employer filed the I-140 petition in August 2010. Three other plaintiffs filed their adjustment of status in March 2012. USCIS originally completed the fingerprint and photograph process and completed the three interviews as the process requires for green card applicants in 2015, 2016, and 2019.

In this month’s Chats with Charlie for the November 2021 Visa Bulletin, Charlie Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division for the Department of State, explained the retrogressions experienced for India in the EB-3 category, while making some predictions for the rest of the fiscal year in the employment-based categories. Questions are submitted in advance for each of these chats, with Charlie answering as many as possible. Charlie also announced his retirement, making this his last Chats with Charlie webinar.

In explaining the retrogressions, Charlie highlighted the estimated FY 2022 Employment-Based Annual Limits, comparing them to the minimum visa demand within the October 2021 Final Action Dates.

President Biden rescinded regional traffic bans due to Covid and provided guidance on individual requirements for all individuals traveling to the U.S. under Presidential Proclamation 10294. The regional travel ban was revoked on October 25, 2021, but remains in effect through 12:01 AM Eastern Time on November 8, 2021. After that point in time, the updated vaccination requirements go into effect for all international air passengers traveling to the U.S. from foreign destinations under the Presidential proclamation.

With some exceptions, all noncitizen, nonimmigrants must comply with Covid vaccinations. For those pursuing an exception, specific requirements include following the health and safety standard requirements as developed by the Director of the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

Additional guidance, outlined below, has been issued by the White House, Department of State, CDC, and other agencies. The guidance outlines the new travel requirements. 

The Biden administration revealed an updated budget reconciliation bill which includes $100 billion for immigration reform. The total bill is valued at $1.75 trillion. The suggested immigration efforts are less robust than plans previously submitted to, and denied by, the Senate parliamentarian.

The bill includes moving the eligibility date for immigrants on the ‘registry’ to receive green cards. The registry was first introduced in 1929 and was last updated in 1986. The proposal is to move the dates up to 2010, allowing individuals who entered the country without documentation between Jan 1, 1972, and Dec 31, 2009, to qualify for legal permanent status.

Two bills have been introduced in Congress in the past year which may help to alleviate some of the backlogs in the visa application process. In the 2020 fiscal year, 122,000 family-based visas and 9,100 employment-based visas went unused as a result of the pandemic. On October 1st, 2021, 83,000 employment visas expired. The unused visas from the 2020 fiscal year have gone to waste and are currently not eligible for roll-over despite the widespread backlogs in the visa system. The Preserving Employment Visas Act and the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 are proposed bills which both seek to remedy this issue. Both pieces of proposed legislation await approval.

The nearly 1,000 Diversity Visas that were set aside by a D.C. federal court must be issued prior to October 2022, per a court order. The U.S. Department of State is required to complete adjudication of these diversity visas that were reserved due to Covid regional travel bans.

Diversity visas are granted to individuals from specific countries that are underrepresented in overall immigration rates.

The State Department is required to start processing the FY2021 diversity visas as soon as possible, within reason. The Judge stated the processing timeline and October 2022 due date is set balancing the needs of the diversity visa holders and resource constraints at the State Department. Monthly reporting is required to ensure the additional 966 diversity visas are adjudicated within the timeframe.

A Fourth Circuit panel unanimously put aside a 2018 ruling that ended immigration judges’ ability to throw out removal cases. The original ruling was enacted by then Attorney General Jeff Sessions. As a result, the appeal of a removal order issued to a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient has been revived.

A 2019 ruling has not yet been overturned by Attorney General Merrick Garland that will finalize immigration judges' ability to put aside removal cases.

Unused green cards from the last two years may be reinstated under a proposed Senate spending bill. The proposed bill allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to reinstate employment- and family-based visa numbers from both fiscal years of 2020 and 2021. The allotment was not able to be processed due to the global pandemic and other delays.

There has been and continues to be a high level of frustration with those seeing green cards, with many waiting years. Continued demand for foreign workers, particularly in the computer occupations area, is slowing company growth.

COVID-19 travel restrictions are being lifted for fully vaccinated international visitors on November 8, 2021. The restrictions were put in place in early 2020 to limit the spread of the pandemic. Individuals with visa requirements should check in with their attorneys or contact ILBSG for assistance.

Foreign visitors coming to the U.S. via air travel must show proof of vaccination and a recent negative COVID test prior to boarding. For individuals coming to the U.S. via land borders must provide proof of a recent negative COVID test and may be asked to show proof of vaccination. These new policies apply to all foreign travelers to the U.S., effective November 8, 2021. Quarantining upon arrival is not required for complying individuals.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released the November 2021 Visa Bulletin, which includes retrogressions for the EB-3 category for India and China, with slight advancement in the EB-2 category.

The retrogressions were not necessarily unexpected, in light of the recent surge of I-485 Adjustment of Status Application (AOS) approvals.  EB-3 Final Action Dates for India will retrogress almost 2 years to January 15, 2012, with the EB-3 Dates for Filing retrogressing to January 22, 2012.

The EB-3 Final Action Dates for China will retrogress about 9.5 months to March 22, 2018, with the EB-3 Dates for Filing retrogressing to April 1, 2018.